Seemingly Enough
by DarkestFlameUchiha
Summary: Sasuke has returned after seven years, but Naruto has moved on and treats him like a nobody. "You've only been calling me a bastard the entire time I've been here. Why won't you say my name?" SasuNaru slight SaiNaru - ON HIATUS
1. Disturbed

I got the idea when I realized how pathetic my attempts at shoving Naru-chan and Sasu-chan together in a world where it would

Anime: Naruto  
Title: Seemingly Enough  
Rating: M  
Category: Angst, Romance, Slight OOC  
Pairings: SasuNaru, SakuLee, KakaIru, slight SaiNaru  
Warnings: Yaoi, After ItaSasu battle in the manga  
Summary: Sasuke has returned after seven years, but Naruto has moved on and treats him like nobody. "You've only been calling me a bastard the entire time I've been here. Why won't you say my name?" SasuNaru slight SaiNaru

_Blah_-Flashback/Character 1st POV

**--U R Darkest's Pawn--**

Those hands running along the other's leg, moving slowly over the muscles that would tremble underneath the heat of the finger pads. He would thrive in just knowing that he had this much power, it was intoxicating and addictive.

When he could hear those simple sounds, such sweet euphoria lit him and he was once again like a fire in a storm, keeping what little burn going, or like a man drowning, barely managing to keep his head above water and not give into the predictable end. He wanted to move faster, to give in to those inevitable wants, but a part of him warned him not to; because they both knew what the consequences would be.

It was not acceptable. Even if he was the most favored of all. They would be banished. And it would be his entire fault.

**--U R Darkest's Pawn--**

"Sakura-chan!" A mop of yellow hair came running along at full speed as Naruto made his way toward the kunoichi.

"Naruto-baka! You're already nearly half an hour late!" The cherry blossom reprimanded. The boy merely chuckled sheepishly at the idea.

The boy was no longer really a boy. He had grown to stand at nearly 5'11". He had indeed fleshed out and his body contained less than 3 fat. His boyish facial features had not changed much, but he had become awfully handsome. And yet here he was, still the same unpredictable knucklehead ninja that he had been when he was twelve.

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan. I really am. Shall we go?" He began walking toward the edge of the village, where they had been scheduled to meet Kakashi and Sai for a small get-together. It had been seven years since they had been truly called Team Kakashi. Sai was still part of Danzo's Black Ops, but he was no longer the clueless and emotionless boy that he had been when they were first introduced. Though there still were moments when he couldn't help but use a fake smile. Sakura had become one of the best medic-nins in the village, and she had just passed her jounin test. And Naruto had just become a part of the ANBU.

"Wait Naruto!" Sakura ran to catch up with him.

_I don't know how long it has been_

Smiling faces greeted other and the group began walking once more, this time toward the BBQ place.

They sat conversing, until the usual banter between Sai and Naruto became too much for Sakura and she hit the both of them over the head.

_Since I have seen that smiling face_

They left, Kakashi and Sai leaving the way that they had come, and Naruto and Sakura likewise.

They talked of mundane topics, just to make sure that the silence stayed away.

When they parted ways, Naruto didn't go home. Rather, he sat with the fence against his back and he closed his eyes. He sat there for a few moments, in complete serenity with his thoughts. No one was around to bother him. He was grateful for that.

He thought of many things, like how he was so happy to have finally made it into the ANBU, and how he had such a wonderful group of friends, and how he was so thankful to have found **him**. He had never been happier before he had gotten together with him. It was such a wonderful feeling, the emotions that welled up inside of him when they were together, the drum-like beating of his heart when they would kiss, the genuine small smile that unconsciously slipped across his face when they were together. Yes, he was very lucky indeed.

When someone finally appeared before him, he opened his eyes and stood up. Then he pressed their lips together softly.

"Naruto, are you ready to go."

"Sure, Sai."

_I don't know why, but I want that to belong to me_

And together, they walked off towards wherever they had planned to be.

_To me alone it should belong_

From afar, he felt his heart break. Shattered by a loneliness unknown.

_Me alone_

**TBC**

**--U R Darkest's Pawn--**

I heard the "dun, dun, dun!" go off in my head when I revealed that it was Sai that Naruto kissed and not Sasu-chan. I know that this is a SasuNaru story…but I can't always make it so easy. I will update when I can. LFA will be updated this weekend.

Please review. It means a lot to me, and it might get you a faster update. (hint, hint)


	2. Lithium

Hello and thank you to all who read and/or review to my last chapter

Hello and thank you to all who read and/or reviewed to my last chapter. I hope that you all understood it. Here's what happened, the poll I posted on my account, if any of you know of it, was at a tie between M-preg and Naru-chan being happy and rejecting Sasu-chan in his return. So, I'm going to make the M-preg the second chapter/part of The Punishment Cure and this is going to another long running story. No I do not plan on leaving LFA to tend for itself; it's just that one may be updated more often than the other. Apologies up front.

Okay, so thank you very much for your support.

Anime: Naruto  
Title: Seemingly Enough  
Rating: M  
Category: Angst, Romance, Slight OOC  
Pairings: SasuNaru, KakaIru, slight SaiNaru, and others…I'm lazy and don't care about them  
Warnings: Yaoi, After ItaSasu battle in the manga  
Summary: Sasuke has returned after seven years, but Naruto has moved on and treats him like nobody. "You've only been calling me a bastard the entire time I've been here. Why won't you say my name?" SasuNaru slight SaiNaru

**--U R Darkest's Pawn--**

Seemingly Enough

He wandered on the outskirts of the village, merely listening with acute hearing to the joyous sounds of whatever free animal had made it way there on whim. He couldn't help but imagine what perhaps Naruto was doing at that moment; maybe he was snuggling up against that damn bastard. Or perhaps he was training. Not for him of course. He had long ended that habit.

_He's moved on_

There was no reason for him to exist any longer. He had promised himself that if Naruto was reasonably happy that he would continue to not exist.

_I should not exist_

_I should just give up_

Yes, Uchiha Sasuke was giving up. He was an outcaste anyways, not to be welcomed back so easily. What difference would it make? He should not.

_It doesn't matter what I tell myself_

But it was already too late. The bushes were disturbed from their usual position, branches bowed at his weight. His feet were leading him to his heart.

_I cannot stop wanting what I have already wanted_

**--U R Darkest's Pawn--**

"I am surrendering myself. I will accept my punishment. I only ask of you one thing."

"And what makes you thing I'll give you that opportunity, Uchiha? You should be happy I'm not calling every available ANBU in here to kill you." Tsunade's voice was like poison and it made Sasuke flinch. The Godaime took note of this. "You have one minute to explain to me everything before I kill you myself."

"I need to reconcile with Naruto."

"You will not go near that boy!" She yelled, slamming her fist on her desk. "He is finally able to smile again with Sai! I may not particularly approve of his taste in men, but he _loves_ Sai! And he's finally found someone to love him back!"

The Uchiha flinched noticeably again, but the woman was not through yet.

"You hurt him, Uchiha! When he woke up in the hospital, do you know that the first thing he said to me was? He said 'I loved him'. And he cried. Do you realize how that broke the rest of us?"

"I need to reconcile with Naruto." Sasuke reiterated in a smaller voice.

"I won't let that happen again! He won't get hurt like—!"

"Look! I know that I fucked up royally, alright! I get that he's happy now! I'm glad! But that doesn't mean that he forgives me for doing all of that! I can't leave my best friend in that state!" The raven interrupted. His heart felt like it was being pierced over and over again, in a way it was. Those words that he had so eagerly blurted out were like barbed wires, surrounding his heart with promises that may, in the end, tear him up like they always did. And his throat was raw, burning because he had practically declared his emotions. "Damn it…I loved him, too. I was just too blind to realize it. But it won't happen again."

They were both quiet for a few moments. "What proof do I have that you don't plan to kill him instead?" the woman demanded.

Sasuke stared at her in shock. "You don't believe that all I truly want is to—"

"No, I don't, Uchiha! But you can't blame me for being so suspicious after so long and hearing of all you've done!"

"You know that Orochimaru is dead. And you know that I killed my brother, what else is there to prove to you?" Sasuke's reply was insolent but quiet.

Indeed, what else could she do to make him prove that?

"Six months, Uchiha. During this time, you are to have a chakra restraint placed upon you, so no, you will not be able to use some forbidden jutsu on him to make him think that he's in love with you." He shot her a withering look, but she glared right on back.

"You have only this time to make Naruto fall in love with you. I won't have you be a prisoner here, seeing as that would most likely go against the council's decision."

When the Uchiha stared at her inquisitively, her glare hardened.

"Don't act as though you don't know of their favoritism. They'll accept anyone back with open arms and clear his marks so long that person's name is Uchiha Sasuke. But don't you dare take advantage of this. If I hear that you have used any violence or unorthodox means, I'll have you executed immediately. And lastly, no one except for me, your ward, and Naruto is allowed to know of your existence here; if I hear of any discovery, whether by accident or not, you will also be executed immediately. Do you understand?" she said with a seriousness that was too personal to be coming from the leader side of her.

The Uchiha nodded.

"This is going to hurt the both of them. I can't continue to ignore the pain that continues to pass through his eyes whenever brings the topic of you up. But he needs to heal, and he can't do that without you by his side." She thought a moment longer. Could she really let a man with the power to kill one of the sannin and one of most dangerous members of the Akatsuki walk around with that much freedom?

She lifted her hand up and someone silently appeared behind the Uchiha.

"Sai."

The raven turned with little emotion to find the man whom he'd seen before. In a time that he wished would suddenly go away. He stared at the artist with an unreadable expression, perhaps surprised but it was perceived as unnamed by the other man.

Sai had a different reaction towards Sasuke that the raven had expected. He'd met the Uchiha during their rescue attempt, and with the way he had so dedicatedly insisted that Orochimaru was the only way and with the way he had fought them so mercilessly, he would have never guessed that he was in love with Naruto. He should have been wiser, though. There were a whole fifteen years of the blonde that he didn't know. Perhaps in that there had been some sort of indication...no, he couldn't let himself be deterred by that sort of thinking. He couldn't let "what if's" ruin his relationship with the blonde. He could only smile victoriously and hope that the blonde had given up on his former teammate.

"It's nice to know you, Sasuke-kun." He plastered a fake smile across his face and stuck out his hand. That was easy enough to spot out.

The raven accepted it with a firm grip but he had no emotion on his face, for he was in no mood to be toyed with, as he said, "He will be mine."

The other man merely continued to smile. There was nothing more to say. That phrase had been the declaration of battle. One that neither was prepared to lose.

When the two of them left, leaving behind too much tension to be considered healthy, Shizune entered with a suspicious feeling.

"Tsunade-sama, are you sure that's the right decision? Naruto and Sai are—"

"I just figured that it would better to not include anyone who isn't part of the direct problem of Sasuke-kun's return." she responded immediately. There was a slightly sadistic glint in her eye and a slurring of her words.

**--U R Darkest's Pawn--**

The two traveled towards Sai's house in silence. There was nothing to be said among the mission and its worker. Sai unlocked the door and placed a hand upon the Uchiha's chest. The smile had been wiped away.

"Please wait here." That was all he said. He walked inside and out of sight. There was a scrambling and the sound of perhaps something being knocked over.

--

"Sai!"

Naruto sat on the other boy and smiled. The Black Opts member smiled as well and pulled the blonde down to kiss him.

The kit smiled and kissed back eagerly, his tongue slowly tracing the man's bottom lip and he chuckled lightly when the other surrendered. They pressed their lips together harder, wanting to fuse themselves together into one entity.

--

Sasuke heard the exclamation from the inside and his heart nearly stopped. He could recognize that voice and excitement anywhere. And yet the breathless moan that accompanied it made him want to burst in there and demand crudely what the blonde was doing. It crumbled those eager emotions and forced him to remember that he needed to find a way for the blonde to forgive him, and then work to love him.

It seemed that he was going to have a tougher time doing so than he thought. Damn that bastard who dared to touch his dobe!

Irritated, he knocked slightly on the door to break up the two. He heard a giggle and then a soft and still heady question of "Who's at the door, Sai?"

Naruto walked to the door with a smile, but it was wiped away the moment he gazed upon that sight. His mind had suddenly gone blank.

Sasuke's arrogant remark had suddenly disappeared as well when saw the blonde. He was wearing slippers, a white frilly apron, dark blue shorts that sent the raven's inner pervert bleeding, and a white t-shirt that seemed to compliment his womanish curves. Blood rushed everywhere (else) in his body, and he could only stare with an expression much like a fish out of water.

"Te...me...?"

"Naruto..."

They were staring at each other with such unfamiliar emotions that the artist felt as though he was choking in what he had misinterpreted as tension.

"Well, Sasuke-kun, I hope that you don't mind, but you will be staying here with Naruto and me for the time being." His tone of voice made it seem as though he didn't care whether the arrangement would impose on the raven.

Upon hearing these words, Naruto snapped out of his stupor and glared at Sai.

"Are you kidding me? The bastard is going to stay here with us?!"

He had turned to face the artist, so he couldn't see the Uchiha's reaction to the phrase "us". Sai nodded solemnly before walking back inside.

Naruto pouted before moving to follow.

The Uchiha grabbed his wrist. "Naruto..."

"Don't worry, teme, we won't do anything kinky while you're around."

The former emotion had not yet disappeared from the raven's eyes.

"I'm glad you're back." the blonde whispered under his breath.

And with that he stole away into the house, leaving the raven alone to smile at the tiny bit of hope.

**--U R Darkest's Pawn--**

Thank you for reading. Please review. It would make me very happy.

I will not be updating LFA until next month, or maybe the end of this month or sooner, because I feel mediocre for forgetting the plot and writing a chapter full of crap. Sumimasen.


	3. Vortex

Anime: Naruto

Anime: Naruto  
Title: Seemingly Enough  
Rating: M  
Category: Angst, Romance, Slight OOC  
Pairings: SasuNaru, KakaIru, slight SaiNaru, and others…I'm lazy and don't care about them  
Warnings: Yaoi, After ItaSasu battle in the manga  
Summary: Sasuke has returned after seven years, but Naruto has moved on and treats him like nobody. "You've only been calling me a bastard the entire time I've been here. Why won't you say my name?" SasuNaru slight SaiNaru

_Blah_-Flashback/Character 1st POV

**--U R Darkest's Pawn--**

Seemingly Enough

"Oi, teme, wake up."

Sasuke remained unresponsive, preferring to ignore the annoying voice that was attempting to wake him up from his less-than-comfortable sleep on the couch. He turned over and pressed his face into the pillow, hoping that it would somehow block out his unwanted alarm clock.

"Teme! Get up!" the blonde yelled while yanking the blankets off, revealing the raven's pale, tone body bearing only boxers.

Sasuke's face appeared form the pillow and he glared at the blonde before flopping back over to his back and pulling the blankets over his head. Naruto growled and attempted to pull them back, to no avail. Unconsciously, he ended up straddling the Uchiha and fought for the fabric. The raven had a smile on his face as the blonde continued to struggle on top of him. It amused him to have the knowledge that Naruto was arousing him, albeit unconsciously. The kit fisted the sheet above Sasuke and gave a good hard yank, this time successfully removing the object. But he had lost his balance in doing so and began to fall forward.

He stuck his arms out at the last moment and caught himself hovering above the Uchiha's face.

"Take that, teme. I. Win." He said with a smile. Sasuke merely chuckled along at the inside joke. The boy was in his grasp now.

He moved his hand from the blanket's edge to cup the blonde's face. His body seemed to be moving too slow for his liking. He only needed a few more centimeters. Then he could pull the blonde down and—

"Good morning." a sleep voice issued from the hallway. He gave a condescending look to the poor Uchiha who had taken refuge on the couch.

"Ah! Good morning, Sai!" Naruto called as he leapt off the raven and ran into the arms of the artist. He pressed their lips together softly, with only chaste intentions, but Sai forced his tongue in, causing the smaller one to moan.

Sasuke clicked his tongue to remind them of his presence. Naruto pulled away with a small giggle that made the raven flare with jealousy. The kit should be giggling at him, not this pathetic replacement of a half-emotionless bastard.

The blonde straightened out his black shirt and apron and then adjusted his black shorts and made his way back to the kitchen.

Sai looked at the Uchiha and smiled. "Good morning, Sasuke-kun."

"Hn."

Sasuke stood up and donned his clothing. He didn't realize that the couple was staring at him until he had fully been dressed and was seated at the table. "Can I help you?" he asked in his usually arrogant voice.

Naruto pouted before blowing a raspberry at the Uchiha. He turned to Sai and said, "Yeah, I'll go with him after this."

"But Naruto—!" he was silence by the blonde's soft lips against his.

"I know that you're supposed to be keeping an eye on him, but you don't know him well enough to know that he won't listen to anyone who can't beat some sense into him. Besides, I can keep him out of trouble just as well as you can, and you know that." He smirked and turned to kiss Sai, his arms winding around the other man's neck. The artist wrapped his arms around the kit's waist. Then he began grinding their hips together. Naruto threw his head back and moaned; this gave the raven a chance to attack his neck, biting and sucking here and there.

His hands roamed the other boy's body, his hands slipping under the blonde's shirt out of habit. Sai toyed with the kit's nipples.

Sasuke looked away in disgust. So much for not doing anything kinky while he was around. His emotions of lust had long since disappeared since the kitsune had draped his form onto the other raven. His hunger had disappeared as well. He felt his stomach twisting in knots, as if he'd been sitting in a rocking ship for three hours. That sickly feeling was not doing much to help squish those former emotions.

The raven pushed away from the table and walked to the bathroom.

Sai remained entirely oblivious as he continued to make-out with his boyfriend. Naruto, however, had immediately noticed the disappearance of the burning hole in his back and knew that the Uchiha had become angry. He also knew what would happen next. Something rash.

Slowly, he eased his way from the raven's grip and he pulled their mouths apart to smile apologetically. "Sorry." he said before running to the hall.

His fist pounded on the door, attempting to coax the raven from his hiding place.

"Teme, come out here right now! Don't hole yourself up in my bathroom!" He frowned when there was no response. "You have no chakra and no jutsus. What are you planning?"

The raven merely unlocked the door and walked outside wordlessly. Naruto followed him with a pout, pausing momentarily to wave goodbye to Sai.

--

"Wait teme! You can't just run out into the village! You're not even supposed to be here!" Naruto called after the man.

Sasuke spun on his heel and sized up the kitsune. "Then what do you propose I do? I'm not going to sit around all day and watch you make lovey-dovey faces at your boyfriend!" he choked on the last word. "God…"

"Well, you can start by using a henge! That might make it easier for you to walk around without receiving glares." Naruto responded. He grimaced after a moment of imagining what might happen to Sasuke for leaving when he had suffered for just being alive. He was completely oblivious to the raven's pain.

The raven's eyes narrowed to a point where it seemed that he was squinting. Then he disappeared in a puff of smoke. A moment later a man who vaguely resembled Naruto stood in his place.

The kit stood with his mouth open for a short time then composed his facial expression and shrieked, "Why the hell do you look like me?!"

"Well, I needed some sort of model. And you just so happened to be conveniently placed in front of me." He smirked in a way that would immediately betray him if someone who had previously known him were to see. "Besides, I really don't look that much alike you, do I?"

The kitsune took a step back to view the man. In truth, they didn't look too much alike. Naruto's hair was a bright blonde that could be compared to the sun. This man's was a fiery red that definitely would not do much to help him keep a low profile. Naruto's eyes were a beautiful cerulean that could easily transform into deep pools of entrancing reflection. This man's eyes were like amethyst, glinting with pride and beauty. But there was one thing that definitely defined them; Naruto had whisker-like scars on his cheeks from Kyuubi. This man did not. (A/N: No I was not aiming to have Sasu-chan's henge look like Gaara, that's just how the character design worked out.)

"Damn smart-ass. What's your name?"

"Huh?" Sasuke looked at him with an expression that easily betrayed how he'd been caught off guard.

"Your name, teme. You obviously can't go around saying 'I'm Uchiha Sasuke back from killing Orochimaru and my brother!' now can you?"

"Mikuni Akihiko."

Naruto looked at him owlishly. Then he burst out laughing. "Alright, let's get going, Miku-miku!"

He giggled again and Sasuke blanched. What the hell was the dobe laughing about? And why was he calling him Miku-miku?

He hung his head as he followed the ecstatic kitsune.

They walked into town, the blonde still leading the way and the disguised Uchiha following sullenly, but his familiarization with the town was anything but boring and nostalgic. He witnessed many things that he'd never paid enough attention to before to realize. Like the looks that many of the villagers sent their way. The looks of hatred and disgust were sickening.

But Naruto just kept on walking with joy, as if those looks had never been there in the first place.

They walked calmly into an apparel store and went to go talk with the man behind the counter. "Good afternoon, Ichijou-san." he said pleasantly.

"Good afternoon, Naruto-kun. What can I do for you today?" the older man asked kindly. he smiled at the young boy.

Sasuke had remained out of the man's direct line of sight to observe. This one was fine. He treated the blonde like a normal person.

"Well, I've got a straggler who new wardrobe." he looked pointedly at the redhead. "This is my cousin Mikuni Akihiko." (A/N: I will be referring to Sasuke as Akihiko while he is in the henge. His surname is Mikuni, just in case the order of names in Japanese is not familiar to any reader.)

"Hello, sir. I'm Mikuni. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The elderly man nodded.

"C'mon Miku-miku, let's go looked for some clothes!" Naruto giggled. Akihiko blushed and followed willing.

Ichijou smiled and laughed in his gravelly voice. He followed them quietly.

After at least half an hour of Sasuke rejecting all of the outfits that the blonde had chose, said blonde no longer tolerated his pickiness and forced him into a changing room. "Try those on while I go look for some more." he ordered. Akihiko obeyed obediently.

Ichijou laughed and Akihiko looked at him in confusion. "I'm glad that you're here. He's been lonely for too long. Do you know much of your cousin?"

"No, I only found out that he was my cousin a little while ago. But he seems very kind." he responded, playing the outsider too well.

"That he is. With all he's been through…it's nice to know that there are still some people in this world who can forgive. Do you see those scars on his cheeks? Those are not coincidentally placed by training. You know of the nine-tailed fox that attacked the village nineteen years ago, am I correct?"

The redhead nodded.

"Well, that creature was sealed inside of him. His father, the fourth Hokage, had sacrificed his life, and his son, for the sake of the village. But he was seen as the monster instead of the hero that the Yondaime had intended." Ichijou paused momentarily, before continuing. "I'm not sure if you know this, but the last Uchiha left the village seven years ago. He happened to be a friend of Naruto-kun's. It was the accursed Orochimaru's fault."

The boy listened intently with an intrigued look.

"He chased that boy to the ends of the earth and back. When he arrived in the village empty-handed, some of the villagers began to wonder if perhaps he'd killed the Uchiha. I knew better than that. He used to tell me all the time about the amazing feats they'd done together. the man looked sadly at the kitsune who was prancing merrily between the clothes racks. "He was beaten the day he came out of the hospital. A few drunken men had gotten up the courage to assault him in an alleyway. The very one behind my shop, actually. That was when I first met him."

Akihiko felt his jaw drop, but did not have enough control to compose himself.

"The Godaime spike with them personally, after treating him here in this shop. I think that it was about this time that he left for his training with Jiraiya-sama. When they came back, that's when they found the Uchiha's replacement, Naruto's current boyfriend, Sai. Because of him, that boy's grown stronger."

Akihiko merely nodded in reply. He had missed out on so much while he was gone. And he felt suddenly guilty for having been lead on such a ridiculous path.

"Miku-miku! I found some more clothes for you!" Naruto said, prancing toward them. The red-haired boy sighed in exasperation.

An hour and fourteen outfits later, the two walked out of the store and down the road.

"Let's eat, Miku-miku!" The kit called, pulling his 'cousin' into the ramen shop.

When they were done, the blonde then dragged him across the village to run other various errands. Akihiko grabbed his wrist as they stood outside the house.

"Naruto, you've only been referring to me as a bastard and Miku-miku. You never say my name. Why is that?"

The blonde refused to look at him as he answered in a weak voice.

"Because I don't care anymore. You aren't Sasuke. You wear his skin, but you aren't." With that, he shook off the man's hand and ran into his house, into the arms of safety.

**--U R Darkest's Pawn--**

Please review. Even the most concise bit of feedback would make me feel happy.


	4. Drowning

Anime: Naruto

Anime: Naruto  
Title: Seemingly Enough  
Rating: M  
Category: Angst, Romance, Slight OOC  
Pairings: SasuNaru, SaiNaru, KakaIru, and others…I'm lazy and don't care about them  
Warnings: Yaoi, After ItaSasu battle in the manga  
Summary: Sasuke has returned after seven years, but Naruto has moved on and treats him like nobody. "You've only been calling me a bastard the entire time I've been here. Why won't you say my name?" SasuNaru SaiNaru

**A/N**: In this chapter I'm taking some liberties and changing some scenes from the canon to fit my story.

**--U R Darkest's Pawn--**

Seemingly Enough

The three of them sat at the table in silence. Naruto avoided the gaze of his boyfriend and his best friend. He couldn't bear to face either of them, not when he'd ditched his love for the bastard and then nearly lashed out and shunned said boy. He was ashamed to be in the presence of either party. And because of that, their should-have-been-calm-and-talkative-breakfast was nearly as silent as the dad, except for the clinking of chopsticks. Naruto was the first one to excuse himself. And he didn't look back as he walked to the bedroom.

He flopped on the bed and sighed. He felt both of their stares on him, on each other, and he couldn't take it anymore. They silently inquired without knowing of what they were doing. Without knowing that they had made contact. And Naruto could hear all of those questions too easily.

_What the hell was that supposed to mean? Of course I'm me. Who else would I be?_

Sasuke…

_He seems awfully quiet this morning. Is something the matter? If the Uchiha did anything I swear I'll…_

Sai…

_And why won't he ever say my name? I understand that he's got a life without me, but still…_

Sasuke…

_I wonder if I should say something…_

Sai…

He was caught between his two loves, and this time ramen wasn't one of them. He couldn't simply drop one for the other. He loved Sasuke and now he loved Sai. He couldn't just leave one. He remembered both confessions easily, but one was definitely more painful than the other.

**BEGIN FLASHBACK**

Sasuke's arm rested upon his shoulder. It would seem like there was nothing unusual about their engagement. Except that this was the worse time possible for this to be happening, considering the fact that the raven's sword was slowly inching it's way toward his back.

"Shouldn't you be training? One who wishes to become Hokage should focus on his power, shouldn't he, Naruto?" His tongue flicked out to lick the shell of the kit's ear. Naruto attempted to remain unresponsive despite the fact that he wanted to return the act of passion.

"A person can't become Hokage if he can't even manage to rescue his best friend, can he, Sasuke?" He remained still, even when that licking became nibbling and quickly cascaded into sucking.

"I missed you." the Uchiha whispered. "I love you. Really."

The blonde did not react, or rather could not. Not when those words that he had longed to hear had been whispered with such emotion. There was no mockery, no sarcasm, no acidity, in his voice. There was just a pure sincerity that took his breath away, because it was something that he'd never witnessed.

"Sasuke…" he breathlessly responded, whispering his friend's name, He knew that the Uchiha was going to kill him. And maybe the confession had been out of guilt. But it didn't matter.

**END FLASHBACK**

That had probably been one of the worst reasons why he should begin to think of Sasuke as himself again, a confession on a whim wasn't and shouldn't be reason enough for forgiveness. Sai had been there to protect him again. He had placed himself, risking bodily harm, in order to save the blonde.

But his confession hadn't been any better.

**BEGIN FLASHBACK**

There were at least twenty more people who were left standing. Naruto was dangerously low on chakra and he's refused to call on Kyuubi for help.

**You do realize that if you don't take my help, you might just die.**

**I do. But this isn't one of those times where I'm just going to give in. If I die I want to be me. **

**Suit yourself, kit. I've lived a long, happy life…well, I'd be happier if I had had a chance to take a whack at the Uchiha.** He chuckled darkly. Naruto, in response, growled with anger.

**Not funny.**

The blonde was so entranced in his conversation that he did not notice that a few of the ninja had advanced. He spun around to dodge a triple-round shuriken that came flying at him. He had been careless, though. One corner nicked his shoulder and he dropped to his knees in pain.

He clutched his injury and noticed a certain senselessness growing throughout his body, claiming his arms in less than 15 seconds.

Damn it all! He was one of the top ANBU captains and yet he'd let himself by caught by something as predictable as paralysis serum.

"Well, foxboy, it's time for you to die!"

Before the man could even make a move, he was decapitated by a gargoyle-like type creature.

Naruto looked up with what little strength he had left. Sai stood behind him with an angry look face. _Chojuu Giga!_ Another army of ink beasts appeared from the scroll and began attacking the men. They had not been expecting anyone else to help the foxchild, and they had expended the same amount of chakra if not more than the blonde. They dropped like flies.

Meanwhile, Sai had begun to heal the blonde's wounds. "Naruto-kun! Are you okay?" the kit nodded weakly.

The artist bent down and softly kissed Naruto. A blush spread across both of their cheeks. Sai pressed their lips together again, this time moving them, molding them together. "Naruto-kun…daisuki."

"S-Sai…" he stammered as the other boy continued to kiss his lips, his cheeks, his forehead, his neck…"Sai, w-we're still on a mission,"

The raven didn't seem to hear him, and they continued to kiss amongst the death and blood. He was completely unaware until the blonde gave in and began to kiss back.

"Let's go, Naruto-kun. We need to get you healed." The kit kissed him one last time with all of his strength.

"Thank you, Sai."

The artist smiled and picked up the blonde and carried him back home.

**END FLASHBACK**

Naruto blushed as he remembered what had happened the next day. He'd woken up in the infirmary and, after being discharged by a worried sick Tsunade, traveled to Sai's house to thank him. Unable leave after thanking the boy he unconsciously agreed to have explicit sex with the raven. He was incapable of leaving that next day, his rear being too sore to want to leave, and his wounds having opened one again.

The kit remained there until night fell upon them, at which time they proceeded to have sex once again.

A few weeks, and rendezvous later, the artist had asked him to move in. They'd been together ever since.

The blonde buried his face into Sai's pillow, inhaling the wonderful aroma. The scent that had held him tethered to the world for so long after Sasuke had left. Had tried to kill him. Had chosen revenge over him. Had chosen the snake-bastard and his brother over him.

Sasuke had chosen many things over him.

So why did he feel so bad for doing the same? Why couldn't he bring himself to do the same now? Why did it hurt so bad to see the raven in pain?

"Naruto-kun…?" a soft voice called from the doorway.

The blonde lifted his head to see his lover staring at him with a worried expression. Said person walked towards him and settled beside on the bed to begin stroking his hair.

Naruto forced his face in the pillow, not wanting to face that look again. He was running away from the problem, for once, and this was one of the most important times where he should be facing the problem. Sure, he could face that Akatsuki members with such impudence that it would make a mother want to slap her child. But when it came to his personal life…

He knew that his problems would just follow like hungry leeches…they always did.

"We need to talk." the man said in a low voice that brooked no disobedience.

The kit looked up in surprise. Sai had a strange look on his face. He couldn't tell if the other looked confused, disappointed, or angry. But it why should it have been easy to see? The artist had been trained to show little to no emotion and had only recently learned to show anything, and now he was putting that cruel training to use.

"What is there to talk about?" Naruto asked with too much innocence to be serious. He rubbed his nape and smiled sheepishly.

Sai pounced and forced the blonde to lie on his back, pinning his wrists above his head. As he hovered above the surprised blonde, he glared with an intensity he's never known of. It pounded through his veins, like a small raft, unmanned, being forced through rapids. All he could see was anger. Red. Fury. Blood. Red.

"What did Sasuke-kun do to you yesterday?" he demanded through clenched teeth. "I want to know what he did! Did he hurt you? If he hurt you, I want to know!"

"Sai…y-you're hurting m-me…!" Naruto yelped as the man's grip on his wrists tightened.

"You're not answering me! Did he hurt you!" he yelled. "Tell me! Or I'll—!"

"Go ahead! That way when I wake up, I'll feel safer! It's better than seeing you like this!" the blonde screamed through his tears and sobs.

"N-Naruto-kun…" Sai tried to wipe away the tears that marred his boyfriend's beautiful face. The boy slapped his hand away.

"Please, don't touch me, just go." He sniffled and rubbed his eyes. The raven-haired man got off the bed and walked to the doorframe and stared at the boy who had curled up in a ball of pain. There was an odd feeling of cold regret that slammed into his chest, rendering him breathless. It was soon erased and replaced by an anger that forced him into the front room.

He found the Uchiha sitting on his couch/bed and staring out the window. There was no expression on his face but he seemed to be content. This angered the man further. What should he be happy about? He was a traitor who was under 24-hour surveillance, and he had absolutely no privacy. He lashed out, slamming the raven against the wall. His shoulder had dug deeply into the man's chest and he heard the wind being knocked out of his lungs.

Sasuke gasped and glared at him with steel onyx eyes.

"Can I help you?" he asked angrily, though shakily due to the unexpected attack.

"What did you tell him?! What did you do to him?!" Sai's hand pulled back and he punched the boy with all of his might.

The raven's head jerked to the right. Blood dripped from his mouth. A sliver of pain passed through his eyes that did not go unnoticed by the other.

"What did you do?" he demanded again.

"I didn't do anything!" Sasuke gasped. "I haven't done a thing! I'm not the villain here! I'm only here to make up for what I've done!"

Sai sneered. "He doesn't belong to you anymore! He is mine!"

He punched the Uchiha again. This time, Sasuke did not allow that to go without response. He punched the other raven right back. "What are you talking about? He was never mine to begin with! I was never wise enough to figure out that he was willingly giving himself to me! That I already had him and that I didn't need to be any stronger to protect him…that I didn't need to leave…"

In his anger, the artist's mind twisted those words and conjured up a translation that was so ridiculously far off base that he might have laughed if he wasn't so angry.

In his mind, he could see a blushing and wanton Naruto, lying with his legs spread and a needy look on his face. Sweat traversed the dimensions of his torso and his manhood was erect and begging for attention.

_Please, Sasuke…! I want your penis in me now. Please give it to me…_

He watched as Naruto threw his head back and was penetrated by the Uchiha.

_Ah…! Ah…! Sas'ke…! Harder, please!_ Their lips met as the kit moaned and came.

His mind was reeling. He wasn't thinking straight. He needed an escape route; the fight-or-flight response in his body was no longer connected, so he was completely unresponsive and time froze.

He didn't want to find himself drowning in the familiarity of knowing pain too intimately. He'd gone through it before and had no plans to do so again.

Like channels flashing by. Flickers of ideas. Never quick enough for his liking. Never cruel enough for his liking. Never deep enough for his liking. Unless…

And then he was laughing. It wasn't a good hearted laugh. It was malicious and startling. Time began to countdown again.

"You don't have six months, Uchiha. But then it will be too late for you." He looked the man straight in the eye and chuckled again. This time it sounded victorious. "He'll be showing by then."

"W-What are you talking about?" Sasuke wheezed.

"Oh? Didn't he tell you?" the smirk grew. "He's pregnant with my child."

**TBC**

**--U R Darkest's Pawn--**

Oh teh noes!! He's preggy!!

**A/N: **Just a quick notice. I'm sorry to announce that after the next chapter, I will be taking a short break. Just a few weeks. Like three…I have a summer reading assignment…well, technically two, but I need to get work on those. So yea. And another sad thing to announce, Chapter 5 will be the halfway mark in this. Only ten chapters were what I could manage. I promise that you will not be dissatisfied. But I do need to work on LFA too.


	5. Possessed

Anime: Naruto  
Title: Seemingly Enough  
Rating: M  
Category: Angst, Romance, Slight OOC  
Pairings: SasuNaru, SaiNaru, KakaIru, and others…I'm lazy and don't care about them  
Warnings: Yaoi, After ItaSasu battle in the manga  
Summary: Sasuke has returned after seven years, but Naruto has moved on and treats him like nobody. "You've only been calling me a bastard the entire time I've been here. Why won't you say my name?" SasuNaru SaiNaru

**--U R Darkest's Pawn--**

Seemingly Enough

"Y-You're lying. It's not possible." His eyes cast downwards. It couldn't be possible. Naruto wasn't a girl, firstly and foremost. Secondly, Naruto was no whore. He wouldn't let himself to be placed in such a position. He wouldn't let something like that happen. Thirdly, there were no such signs. Wouldn't something revealing have turned up by now? Despite his lack of knowledge in that area, he had enough common sense to put two and two together.

"You can choose to believe me or not, Uchiha. I personally don't care." Sai laughed again, bitter and condescending.

Then his grip on the Uchiha loosened and the raven slumped to the floor. There he sat, crumpled in pain, until the night came, disguised and welcome. He'd cried himself to sleep and was roused by a horrible odor. It made his stomach churn and none-too-gently yanked him out of that rest.

Calm azure met his gaze.

"Sasuke…are you okay?" the worried voice shook him to the core, because it easily betrayed what the blonde had tried to portray in his eyes.

With a groan, he attempted to move from his spot on the ground, but a pain shot through his torso, leaving him breathless and writing in pain. His eyes snapped closed, as if to protect him from the horrid idea.

"Sasuke! Hold still, you're injured!" Naruto cried again in the same tone.

The raven chuckled and attempted once more to get to his feet, ignoring the blonde's efforts to keep him immobile, this time succeeding. "You finally said…my name." He smiled weakly.

The kit blushed. "S-Shut up, teme. I was just worried." He made a move to get up, but Sasuke gripped his wrist, causing him to flinch.

"Naruto, are _you_ okay?" Now he recognized that scent. Bile. His stomach twisted into knots as he pressed. "Were you throwing up?"

The blonde looked away form him. Yes, he had. Out of disgust. When Sai had left the room, he'd run to the bathroom and emptied his stomach. His boyfriend had disappeared, so there was no witness to how he remained pathetically curled up, and emptying bile into the ceramic dome from time to time. "That's not the point right now, Sasuke. You're injured. I'll go get Sakura."

He disappeared without so much as waiting for an answer. He did not need one, nor did he want one.

There were three emotions that seemed to cloud the raven's mind at that point.

The first being joy that the blonde seemed so worried about his welfare, and the fact that he'd just heard his name called forth from those delicious lips. It was enough to lift him out of the temporary depression that his complicated life had sent him into.

But the second emotion seemed to wipe that out completely. He was in a slight panic. Naruto had been throwing up?! Did that mean…? But—! He slammed his head against the floor, ignoring the pain that seemed to flow through the rest of his body in response. That wasn't the greatest of his concerns at the moment, though he wished he could pay more attention to it.

The third emotion was helplessness. No one besides the Godaime, Sai, and Naruto were supposed to know of his existence in Konoha. He was royally fucked. Again. The raven closed his eyes. Maybe he'd wake up and realize that it was all a dream. That would hurt, would tear him up, to know that he'd dreamt of being with his love, to have his love so close, where he could have held him in his arms. He could have kissed the boy, made love to Naruto, imagined his life to be well with the boy. But now, he was going to suffer a painful death without the blonde yet again.

He hurriedly tried to think of something. Anything that would save him from the current situation.

But Naruto should have known the situation. So why would he have called on…?

It struck the Uchiha hard.

Naruto was counting on him to figure it out.

He smiled tiredly. The blonde's panicky voice was getting louder.

"Hurry, Sakura-chan! He's in pain!"

"Who's in pain, Naruto? You just keep saying 'He's in pain! He's in pain!' Who is he?"

Sasuke heard their heavy footsteps outside and made his snap decision.

The two burst through the door.

"Miku-miku! Are you okay! I brought Sakura-chan like I promised!" He knelt over the redhead, a soft smile now touching his features. He was proud of the Uchiha. But he could hear the heavy breathing, and knew that the henge was putting too much stress on the boy's chest. It wouldn't be long before the transformation would break. He looked helplessly at a dumbfounded Sakura. "Please help him!"

"N-Naruto, who is this?" She knelt down beside the preoccupied kit and tried to calm him down.

"M-Mikuni…Aki-hiko...It's a pleasure…to meet you…" the man in front of her replied. His breathing turned ragged once more and he curled up in pain.

While the cherry blossom tried to coax him into lying flat on his back, she ordered Naruto to help her take him to the table. The two of them carried Akihiko to the kitchen table and lay him out to be examined.

From a first glance, it was obvious that his chest had been injured. Upon further assessment, she realized that his sternum was bruised and he had three broken ribs. Sakura's only choice was to take him to the hospital. But the kit begged her just to take care of it there.

"Mikuni-san, please hold still. This may hurt a bit." her hands began to glow bright green as she let her chakra mend the man's bones. The redhead felt his chest tightening and cried out in pain. If that wasn't distraction enough, then the worried look on Naruto's face made him close to throwing caution to the wind and letting the transformation go.

When Sakura had finished, Akihiko had fallen in and out of consciousness for quite a while. The cherry blossom left around forty-five minutes later.

When the raven awoke, Naruto's being was hovering above him. The blonde looked angry, sad, frightened, and worried all at once. It partially amused him that his face constantly showed much more emotion than was safe for a shinobi. He reached out to cup the other boy's face.

Naruto's hand held the raven's hand as he stared at him.

"Why did you have to do that to me? What the hell?" His cerulean eyes began watering and he attempted to clear them. "How the hell did you manage to get hurt anyways? You have your chakra monitor, so you couldn't have won a fight…"

"Usuratonkachi…"

The kit stared at him. Sasuke's eyes hardened for a moment, and the kit's face came closer to the raven's. And then their lips were pressing. Softly. Tastefully. Silently. Both of Sasuke's hands cupped Naruto's face as the kit's hands twisted into sable locks.

Two pale, pink dancers emerged, like performers in a recital, performing a beautiful tale of entanglement and attachment. They danced and danced until they were both too lost to realize what had passed between the two of them. As the kit lay upon the Uchiha, breathing hard, he smiled. Then he kissed the boy once more, softly but with just as much passion before, and he walked away to his room.

Sasuke pulled himself to the couch and fell asleep with a soft smile on his face.

Naruto had fallen asleep not too long afterwards.

His boyfriend crept in around two in the morning, crawling in bed beside the blonde. The boy turned to the heat and snuggled into his boyfriend's narrow chest. But he was not dreaming easily, despite the smile that remained on his face…

_Sasuke…_

--

When the kitsune awoke, he snuggled deeper into the warmth of his sheets trying to block out the sunlight that seemed adamant to stream through the cracks in the blinds.

A sensitive smell drifted to his nose and his stomach dragged him from his rest. He waltzed to the kitchen and found Sai standing there in his apron. (Naruto's apron.)

Naruto wanted to laugh, but he didn't want to forgive and forget. Not to mention the look that had appeared on his face. That wouldn't have made his forgiveness very convincing.

It was frightening to be in the man's very presence. But he took comfort in the fact that the Uchiha was slowly awakening.

"Ohayo, Sasuke!" he said sweetly to the raven.

The returned greeting was soft and full of confusion and embarrassment. "O-Ohayo." He watched as the kit nervously turned to say good morning to his boyfriend.

"Ohayo, Naruto-kun." the artist said, beating him to the punch.

The blonde blushed and nodded, making sure to avoid those penetrating coal eyes. So much for his courage…He sat at the table, his eyes still cast downward. He flinched when the breakfast was placed in front of him. Sai's heart clenched at this knowledge, but he did nothing to fix that.

He just watched, knowing that his touch would only make things worse. But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was knowing that his beloved boyfriend would only need, and allow, for the Uchiha to heal him. Fuck…

"What're you doing today, Naruto?" the Uchiha asked out of courtesy, knowing that the artist was glaring holes into his back.

"Hmm…well, I probably need to grab some groceries." He turned to Sasuke. "Will you come with me?"

"Um, I'm not so sure…" had it been entirely his choice, he would have immediately said yes. But the growing sensation in his made him hesitant.

"Please, Sasuke-teme…" the kitsune asked with tears in his eyes. "If you don't…"

"Alright, I'll go!" the raven choked out, praying that the blonde wouldn't continue with his act. He didn't know how much longer his self-control could hold out. And after last night…

"Okay! Then it's decided!" he said with a triumphant smirk. "After breakfast, we're taking a trip to the market!"

As excited as he was to be going out with Naruto alone, again, there was a hindrance that just refused to let go. And he was somehow sure that Sai had something to do with it. The way the boy looked at him, it was as if there were emotions that just begged to be released, to wreak havoc in the most highlighted way.

And for Sasuke, it seemed like for the first time in a long while, his emotions were getting out of hand and becoming too hard to control. It was truly like falling love all over again.

Not that he'd ever fallen out of love.

--

"What's up, teme? Why are you lagging?" the blonde chuckled. "Don't tell me that those injuries are too much for the great Uchiha?"

"For Uchiha Sasuke, maybe not. For Mikuni Akihiko, yes, they are." Akihiko shot back.

Naruto spun around to give him a contemptuous look. "Well then, you should have told me that you didn't want to come along. I can shop by myself, you know. It's not as if I'm handicapped or anything."

He turned right back around, but the redhead stood there planted. "Handicapped…?"

The word seemed so wrong coming out of his mouth and describing Uzumaki Naruto. The indestructible, unpredictable, indescribable dobe.

The kit turned around again, confused. "It was just an example, teme."

But the man just kept mumbling to himself. "Handicapped…handicapped…handicapped…"

"Are you feeling alright, bastard? Maybe you should have stayed home…?" the blonde was feeling perhaps just a little freaked out, standing in front of the Uchiha who seemed to be lost in his thoughts. It was frightening to find the man whom he'd known to be completely apathetic or otherwise angry suddenly falling apart.

"Naruto…a-are you…"

"Am I what, teme?" he responded slowly.

But the words just did not seem to be willing to come out of his mouth. Like some sticky substance stuck on his tongue, they wouldn't budge.

His breathing came in sharp gasps, and he didn't know what to think. Why? Why now of all times did he have to be thrown something as ridiculous as that? When he thought he might have finally succeeded in getting his chance back with the blonde…When he thought that he might have finally been able to have to the blonde to himself…

"N-Naruto…are you…

He trailed off. Unable to find his lungs. What was this pain? It was so familiar, cutting at his nerves. It choked him, as if his fear hadn't already done that. There was bile rising, fear induced, and he wanted an answer, but he felt that he would just throw up, regardless the answer.

"…Pregnant…?"

The blonde stared at him. Shocked. It was too long before he could respond.

"How did you…?"

**--U R Darkest's Pawn--**

OME!!(Sorry, inside joke for all Twilighters) They kissed! Oh, and sorry for the cliff.

Well, this is where I have to take a break. I'm sorry. But I have other priorities. Please, patiently await my next update. And if you're so desperate for my writing, you can always read Looking For Angels. (hint, hint)

Please review. It means so much to get feedback from my readers. Flames will be ignored.

**I will be posting a story from Jacob's POV on my other account (the link is on my account) sometime before ****Breaking Dawn****comes out. This leaves me with all of a day to get it done. Joy…lol**

**If you are a Twilighter, please support my writing. (bows)**

**-SPOILER-**

**OME!! Those who are familiar with "TwilightSeriesTheories" should already know this, but I'm so freaking excited!! The wedding is definitely something that I am completely anxious to see. I hope that Mrs. Meyer really made it beautiful. And if you know that quotes that have been put out, would you mind sharing your theories on this one. If you could send me a PM, I'd love to start having discussions about it.**

"_I'd_ like to beat you dead."

-Rosalie


	6. Distance

Anime: Naruto  
Title: Seemingly Enough  
Rating: M  
Category: Angst, Romance, Slight OOC  
Pairings: SasuNaru, SaiNaru, KakaIru, and others…I'm lazy and don't care about them  
Warnings: Yaoi, After ItaSasu battle in the manga  
Summary: Sasuke has returned after seven years, but Naruto has moved on and treats him like nobody. "You've only been calling me a bastard the entire time I've been here. Why won't you say my name?" SasuNaru SaiNaru

**--U R Darkest's Pawn--**

_Previously:_

"_N-Naruto…are you…_

_He trailed off. Unable to find his lungs. What was this pain? It was so familiar, cutting at his nerves. It choked him, as if his fear hadn't already done that. There was bile rising, fear induced, and he wanted an answer, but he felt that he would just throw up, regardless the answer._

"…_Pregnant…?"_

_The blonde stared at him. Shocked. It was too long before he could respond._

_  
"How did you…?"_

Seemingly Enough

"How did you come to that conclusion?" there was uncertainty in those cerulean orbs that seemed to peer into his soul. There was also confusion and perhaps, hurt?

But Akihiko did not respond. The mere fact that the blonde hadn't denied it made his head spin. Damn. So it was true…

He wanted to walk away. To allow those emotions to overlap and fully take over so that he could take time off living and watch like some completely apathetic looker-on. He didn't want to know that he'd lost. If that was one thing that Uchiha Sasuke was good at, it was never giving up on what he wanted. It was never listening to what others had said and making sure that he won.

So why was it that when he was with Naruto, he wanted to die? Why was it that the blonde made him want to throw himself into a puddle of mud so that he wouldn't have to dirty up his feet?

The kit stared at the redhead for a moment longer.

Then he burst out laughing.

"Huh?!" The redhead's eyes immediately snapped towards the blonde who was laughing with too much vigor.

Hands slowly drifted towards the boy across from him. But what was he going to do? Grab Naruto's shoulders and shake him until he stopped laughing?

Tears formed in the corners of the blonde's eyes. Then he glanced at Akihiko again and his fit of laughter began once more. (A/N: He's still in the henge, just in case anyone is confused.)

"You're…so…dumb…Sasuke…!" he choked out.

An angry scowl crossed Akihiko's visage. So now he was dumb for being concerned for his friend's well-being? Well, that was just the encouragement he needed.

"Dobe, you'd better tell me exactly what's going on, because I'm halfway to insanity." he growled through his teeth.

The blonde looked at him for a moment owlishly, throwing in a quick, "You were already there," before sobering up a bit and wiping away the tears that had begun cascading down his face.

"Sasuke, I promise to you that I'm not in the slightest pregnant. There's no way I could be anyways. Hello, I'm a guy." he waved his hands in front of the redhead, hoping to dispel any illusion that the man had sucked himself into.

"You're…not pregnant…?"

There was still a distance in the redhead's eyes, that seemed to draw him farther away from the situation at hand as he those words finally registered.

And the next thing he knew, his arms were full of the surprised blonde. Akihiko spun in a circle with the kit, and then, before he could realize what he'd done, their lips were pressed once again. It was sweet. Not salty like the man had anticipated, but it still left him hungry for more of that satisfaction like any sodium-based product.

He pulled back to stare at Naruto's stunned facial expression and half-mast eyelids.

And then his arms were empty. Cold.

"T-teme...what the hell was that?" he did not look at the man.

But Akihiko refused to say anything. He couldn't. It was as if his mind had disconnected from his body, repudiating his want to respond to what had just been said.

Why had he kissed Naruto? He couldn't help himself. The immediate elation he'd felt when those words had just suddenly burst through in that form.

Hadn't he told himself that he'd work towards it? This wasn't the way. Forcing himself onto the blonde…

He was an Uchiha. He couldn't allow himself to be overtaken by some pathetic whim.

'Damn it!' he cursed to himself. 'It's always the fucking Uchiha pride that gets in the way!'

He knew it, and he lied to himself constantly to squash those auspicious feelings of hope and joy that seemed to rise in him whenever he saw that blinding smile. The blonde's aura seemed too strong to allow him to brood about how he was losing an uphill battle for love and life.

Sasuke knew that he had the power to win over these inane views that had been taught in his head. Had he not run away from this village to become someone else? Had he not thrown away any sort of remembrance of this place in order to become that other person? If so, then why couldn't he throw away the useless mindset that had been his way of living as a child?

His family had been full of a bunch of lying, power-hungry bastards. So why couldn't he abandon the rules that only ordained to a single living traitor?

He couldn't possibly fathom that.

There was that intangible connection that he still held with his family.

"Naruto…"

"Teme…we need to get going."

As the blonde began walking away, the raven grabbed his wrist and held him fast. "Wait, you need to—"

The kit's darkened blue orbs stared at him with little attention. They seemed to melt through him and burn his soul.

"I don't need to do anything. Let's get going." His voice matched his eyes then, lifeless. He yanked away a final time and they continued on their journey.

**--U R Darkest's Pawn--**

Silence was settled heavily between the two as Akihiko remained behind and out of sight as Naruto meandered around the village looking for the week's groceries.

A week.

That was how long Akihiko had already taken up. And what had he accomplished besides having the blonde's furious reactions following him to and fro? He had failed as an Uchiha. He was supposed to be the best of the best.

But in the situation, one should suppose that it wouldn't be any sort of easy task as he'd found in past for all of the things that he'd been assigned. Making someone fall in love with you when you'd only hurt him throughout your entire life, that would almost be impossible if one were to consider it.

It was because he was Uchiha Sasuke, and because he needed the blonde like he'd thought he'd needed power, like he'd thought he needed to kill his brother, like he really truly did need the air he breathed because it held within its depths the fragrance of the only person he wanted so deeply, that he wasn't going to give up. Not this time.

With a new perspective and a slightly more optimistic direction, the redhead walked with purpose after the blonde.

**--U R Darkest's Pawn--**

The blonde walked warily into the apartment. Not _his_ anymore… not _theirs… _

It felt strange to walk into the place he'd live in for the last few years and no longer be able to call it a home. And he felt empty. Sai was home, but how was he to face him?

Sasuke noticed how the blonde hesitated in the doorway. Why? A part of him wanted to walk inside on his own…and then beat the senseless bastard who had injured his love…but another part was too frozen with fear as to take another step.

Naruto wasn't one to be scared very easily, so what was this fear that kept him immobile outside of his own residence? It made the raven's heart stutter as he realized that there were very few things that could possibly be inhibiting the blonde's movement.

And that one of those things was residing inside his house.

Sai…

He choked back the growl that was rising within his throat.

Softly, he placed his hand on the small of the kit's back and pushed them forward. Naruto moved mechanically, his mind obviously elsewhere, or hiding in the shadows to not predict and face what would inevitably be coming his way.

When they strayed inside, the artist was slumped on the couch with his head in his hands. He was mumbling to himself, in a fashion that blatantly showed how he didn't realize the action himself, and it was only when Sasuke let it known that he and the blonde were home that he was broken out of that trance.

There was absolute despair and regret on his face, and it shone brightly in his eyes. "Naruto!" he cried out as he lurched to his feet.

His hands were extended, but he reeled them back in quickly when he witnessed how the blonde flinched.

"Naruto…please! Please, don't do this to me! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I never meant for that to happen and if mph—"

He cut off abruptly as he felt a pair of familiar lips pressed against his. And then he felt that lean body pressed against his and heard the sobs that resonated throughout his chest.

"I'm so sorry…" Sai whispered. He just whispered to his blonde.

Neither of them noticed how the Uchiha glared at the scene from his same position.

Neither of them noticed how Sasuke's heart was slowly breaking as he realized how futile his job was.

Once again, in anger and hurt, he ran away from the sight that was too much for him to handle. He didn't go far. The roof was enough to let him deal with the trouble in peace.

Here, alone, his mind was free enough to think what he would have been too distracted around Naruto to process.

There were many things that he needed to line up and analyze. Too many things that were against him, not enough for him.

When he thought of it all, lined up the process in which things were and had been, it all seemed to stack up so many things that were wrong.

He'd been rude. He'd been cruel. He'd never cared. He'd never said anything nice. Not once had he made a slip in character. There had never been a moment when he hadn't thought that it might be nice to compliment his blonde, but what had come out of his mouth was the exact opposite of what he'd contemplated. It was a knee-jerk reaction to say something rude.

Distancing himself had been only what could keep him from getting hurt. In the end, he'd accomplished exactly what he'd set out to do, he'd perfectly distanced himself from everyone and everything.

But that hadn't made him into the person he'd fancied himself to be. He hadn't felt very good being at the top.

It was lonely.

No matter how many times he convinced himself that this alone would help him achieve his dream, he often also wondered what it would like to be able to have someone to celebrate his accomplishments with. To have a person to be excited and gleeful with, though he would never have admitted to anyone (not even himself).

Whenever he thought down that path, though, he was always torn between the logic he'd learned, and what his heart had desired for so long.

Logic had won out in the end. And it sucked like hell.

Bonds were only a hindrance. They would only cause him to be torn apart if he lost something or someone. If he had attachments, they were only there to keep him trapped. To make him tethered to that specific place. To make sure that there were boundaries to what he could destroy.

That _was_ how he'd saw when tempted by Orochimaru.

All that he could ever see was a sort of chain to his self, to the human part of him that he longed to trash so that he could become unbelievably powerful. So that he wouldn't have to obey the emotions that would tug a normal person in directions that would prevent him or her from making precipitous decisions, or choices out of anger and hurt.

Those tethers would stop him, place a hand on his arm to hold him back and make him reconsider for even a second just so that he would reconsider. It was irritating.

When he'd had that shown to him, placed out on the table for him to observe that which he had built his life around, it was eye-opening.

And then he'd been hasty and left. Intent on gaining power enough for him to accomplish anything in the world, but that wasn't the end of his stupidity.

Then he'd evaded everything that had happened to try to lure him back. He wouldn't allow Naruto to take him. He wouldn't allow his love for the blonde to send him to his senses. And now, he had to pay for it.

"Damn it!" the raven cursed, his hands tightening on his hair. "What's wrong with me?! Why can't I do anything right?!"

That wind that caressed his body threw him into a sad whirlpool of doubt. And the blank, black sky seemed to agree…he was a fool.

**--U R Darkest's Pawn--**

I don't know if I mentioned it before, but Naruto doesn't refer to Akihiko (Sasuke's henge) as said man unless in the presence of people who don't know that Sasuke's back. In other words, when it's just the two of them, he says 'Sasuke' or 'teme'.

Please review. It really does make me update faster. I know that a lot of authors just say that, but with a lack of reviews, some people begin to feel like their typing is a waste of time. So do a favor, help an author. (lol sounds like I'm advertising for the Make a Wish foundation)

I know that I took much longer to update than I said that I would, blah, blah, blah, it's okay if y'all want to be jerks. I'm just gonna stop writing this story and allow my already insanely busy life to finally cool off a bit. How does that sound? (twitchy eye)

I'm sorry. I'm just going to get back to work. (runs away from fire pits of doom sent by readers)


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